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Racing
and Winning
Starting back in 1954, the success of Yoshimura as
one of the world’s largest performance aftermarket
sportbike exhaust companies didn’t happen overnight.
Founded by Hideo Yoshimura, or “Pops”, as he was
known by, he started out with a few dedicated
employees working in a small race shop. The shop was
quick at pumping out fast race car and bike motors,
the reputation of “Yoshimura-built” motors grew and
he soon created a cult-like following among racing
enthusiasts. With this momentum Pops turned his
attention to the U.S.
In the mid 70’s, Yoshimura R&D of America Inc. was
up and running and the new American division was
building a reputation just as strong as its parent
company had in Japan. In the early days of Yoshimura
R&D, legendary tracks such as Daytona and Loudon
were the proving ground for the “new kids on the
block.” The granddaddy of them all, Daytona, was
where the Yoshi crew staked its claim. The bikes
held up to the punishing high banks of Daytona and
the power was there!
Senior Vice President, Don Sakakura, has been
running the racing efforts for many years now.
Starting as a mechanic, Don rose through the ranks
to the level where today he is running one of the
largest racing efforts in America. Don oversees the
day to day operation of the Team Yoshimura Suzuki
Road Race Team with riders Mladin, Spies, and
Hayden. Don also oversees Yoshimura’s motocross and
supercross collaboration with Team Suzuki, Team
Honda support, Team Rockstar Suzuki and Team 199
with rider Travis Pastrana. Don has been
instrumental in the many championships that
Yoshimura has won over the years and there are many
more to be won on the horizon.
Pops decided to return home and oversee things
there, his son Fujio took up the reins helping to
further solidify the Yoshimura name in the history
books of American roadracing. Through the late 70’s
and early 80’s, Fujio’s creative foresight and
innovative design helped Yoshimura R&D of America
Inc. to become a leader in the art and science of
sportbike performance technology.
When Pops decided to retire, Fujio headed back home
to run Yoshimura Japan. In his place, Suehiro
Watanabe, or “Nabe”, became the head of Yoshimura
R&D of America. Nabe was not only an accomplished
mechanic but he had an intuitive understanding of
the manufacturing process. He has developed many new
manufacturing techniques, which have helped put
Yoshimura at the forefront of the aftermarket
exhaust industry.
Yoshimura Pant - Motorcycle Street, Sports Bike,
On-Road Racing Pants, Yoshimura Jackets, Yoshimura Exhausts,
Yoshimura R& D, Yoshimura Street Exhausts, Yoshimura
Off-Road Exhaust, Yoshimura ATV Exhaust, Yoshimura
Kawasaki, Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha Exhaust
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